Sideswipe: December 19: Do you know Nana Pat?

Wrong address.

"This postcard arrived at my address in Alice Ave, Orewa," writes Jim. "Sadly Nana Pat does not live here and inquiries in our neighbourhood have failed to locate her. It is such a lovely message, it is sad that Nana Pat will not receive it and feel that she has an neglectful granddaughter. I would be happy to pass the card on to Nana Pat if she contacts me directly or through you."

Kiwi Christmas songs

Did you know that Kingi Ihaka wrote A Pukeko in a Ponga Tree, a version of the popular song The 12 Days of Christmas in 1981? The Kiwi version has become a firm favourite in schools and seasonal song compilations. According to nzhistory.govt.nz some carols, such as Marie te po (Silent Night), have been translated into Maori to give them a New Zealand flavour. One of the most popular New Zealand Christmas songs of the 1960s was Sticky Beak the Kiwi, recorded by Kiwi Records. Gisborne songwriter and folk singer Bob Edwards wrote the words in the hope of producing a Christmas song especially for New Zealand children. Another local, Neil Roberts, set the words to music. Fourteen-year-old Gisborne schoolgirl Julie Nelson was selected to be the vocalist and recorded the hit song in 1961. She was backed by local group the Satins and the Whanganui dance band the Don Bell Orchestra. The version available on this site was produced by staff at the Ministry for Culture and Heritage in 2007. The lyrics read like a manifesto of workers' rights. "The Aotearoa branch of the Santa Claus Distribution Union made it perfectly clear who was in charge once the sleigh arrived in this part of the world."

Janet Martin proudly shows off her very creative Christmas Teddy Bears Tree.

The Simpsons' prophecies spot on

The Simpsons has had an impressive track record for predicting future events including an episode in 2000 where Donald Trump was in the Oval Office. The cartoon show also predicted who would win the Nobel Prize for Economics six years early. In a 2010 episode, Milhouse tries to impress longtime crush Lisa by contributing to a prediction sheet on who would win the economics prize. His pick: Bengt Holmstrom of MIT. In 2016, Holmstrom was named a joint winner. And in a 1994 episode Principal Skinner is ousted after angering the superintendent. Unnoticed by his inspection: the fact that Lunch-lady Doris prefers to prepare school lunches using giant tubs of horse parts. In 2013, several food producers in France, Sweden and Britain were found to have distributed frozen burgers and other products that contained horsemeat, an unwelcome additive they did not disclose. (Via Mental Floss.com)